Pursuit of Happiness & Crucibles

“The Pursuit of Happyness,” was released by Columbia Pictures in December 2006 and is inspired by the true story of a real-life leader, Chris Gardener. Chris Gardner is the owner and CEO of Gardner Rich LLC with offices in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. Gardner Rich LLC is a FINRA registered broker-dealer specializing in servicing public pension funds and Taft-Hartley plans for some of the nation’s largest institutions and unions. Conquering grave challenges to become a successful entrepreneur, Gardner is an avid motivational and inspirational speaker, addressing the keys to overcoming obstacles and breaking cycles. Gardner is also a passionate philanthropist whose work has been recognized by many esteemed organizations. Will Smith starred as Gardner and received Academy Award, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations for his performance. Gardner was an associate producer on the film. In the early years of his life, Gardener was a scientific supply salesman. In the movie, he sells bone scanners which are hard to sell and no one needs. As a result he is shown to be financially distraught from the beginning. In 1981, as a new father to son Christopher Gardner Jr., he was determined to find a career that would be both lucrative and fulfilling. He was also determined to raise his child in the best way he could because he himself had spent his entire life not knowing who his father was. Fascinated by finance and in his pursuit of happiness, but without connections, an MBA or even a college degree, Gardner applied for training programs at brokerages, willing to live on next to nothing while he learned a new trade. Gardner earned a spot in the Dean Witter Reynolds training program but became homeless when he could not make ends meet on his meager trainee salary. In addition to this, he had to take care of a bevy of parking tickets, and back taxes in addition to rent, childcare, and groceries.The movie shows Gardener’s crucible...

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...April 24, 2013
The Pursuit of Happiness
What is happiness? What is virtue? Although these two things are important to us, we probably have not put much though into why. Most people would agree that happiness is something everyone wants or a state of being. Virtues are part of our character and encompass such things as loyalty, courage, truth, and integrity and are also an essential part of who we are. When we congratulate each other on an important event in our lives, an indispensable component of our wishes is happiness. We all have our own understanding of happiness. According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary (2013), one of the definitions of happiness is “a pleasurable or satisfying experience”. For some people satisfaction comes with money, for others with a good grade or a well done job. Happiness and virtue are key components in human nature and something we all naturally strive for; however, because we are all unique each of us will strive for these in a different way.
The desire to be happy is a universal and natural part of human nature. Every person has his or her own unique definition of what happiness means. Each person has their own desires, wishes, thoughts, emotions and dreams. Even with all the different thoughts/ideas about happiness you can still attain it. If you want your life to be filled...

...Pursuit of Happiness
The Pursuit of Happiness, starring Will and Jaden Smith is a story that documents a series of failures, defeats, and missed opportunities. This movie is an autobiography of the true life experiences of Mr. Christopher Paul Gardner. He is the owner and CEO of Gardner Rich LLC. Born February 9, 1954 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, his childhood was marked by poverty, domestic violence, alcoholism, sexual abuse and family illiteracy.
He became a working, single father who struggled to build a future for himself and his son; his determination finally paid off. He landed his dream job. With self confidence he rose above his obstacles. He continued to press on with a positive outlook. Regardless of the outside distractions he maintained a “can do” attitude. He was determined to make it! Once he landed his dream job, he surrounded himself with like-minded people. He was persistent, even during his lowest points in life. Gardner published his autobiography out of a desire to shed light on these universal issues and show they do not have to define you.
Many of the characteristics portrayed in the movie are common to what is needed to keep a successful college career. To be successful you must first see yourself that way. You have to keep a healthy attitude, meditate on your goals, and take action! In order to get something different, you have to do something different. Often times...

...The Pursuit of Happiness
In 1981, in San Francisco, the smart salesman and family man Chris Gardner invested the family savings in Ostelo National bone-density scanners, an apparatus twice more expensive than x-ray with practically the same resolution. The white elephant financially breaks the family, bringing troubles to the relationship with his wife that leaves him and moves to New York. Without money and wife, but totally committed with his son Christopher, Chris sees the chance to fight for a stockbroker internship position at Dean Witter, disputing for one career in the end of six months training period without any salary with other twenty candidates. Meanwhile, homeless, he has all sorts of difficulties with his son.
The bright and shiny happy people in the movie were the rich. The poor were downtrodden, mentally ill, hostile, and dishonest. The poor guy won't pay you back the $14 he owes you, but the suit will fork over the $5 you gave him for cab fare. The message of the movie was MONEY = HAPPYNESS. And this is actually untrue in reality, or at least to me.
The movie conflates two concepts and doesn't distinguish them — survival and success. Most of the movie is focused on survival. The movie captures the truly horrific feeling of an empty wallet.
The main lead succeeds wildly, but I couldn't shake the tragedy of all those who didn't have his skills, perseverance, or luck. The movie wanted to create a sense of loss and then have...

...The Pursuit of Happiness
Films have always been an integral constituent through which I have explored several ways of knowing myself in better way, in discovering my likes and dislikes and along with this the genre of films I prefer watching are highly inspirational and motivational and nature so that at the end of a two hour journey I may have something to look forward and beneficial to extract and implement in my own life once the film concludes. One of the recent films that I viewed and would love to see it again and again is the Pursuit of Happiness. Even though the film was released in the year 2006, I had a chance of viewing this film recently and was undoubtedly like any sentimental person could not hold back my tears as the film moves into its conclusive phases. (Gardner, 2006)
The movie is primarily based and inspired by a true story of a stockbroker Chris Gardner which has been done by Will Smith in the film. The core plot of the movie revolves around the struggle, troubles and toils that this person encounters during the multitude phases of life in order to achieve the status and position that he desired. The story focuses a man, a husband and a father and the triple responsibilities that he has to fulfill and the problems that he faces in order to satisfy all his relationships. Despite the fact that his wife leaves him because of the deteriorating economic conditions of the family, he remains loyal to...

...﻿Running Head: PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
Pursuit of Happyness: Using Solution-Focused and Narrative Therapy Approaches
PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
Abstract
Pursuit of Happyness is a movie where a man, Chris Gardner is a salesman that goes from one medical facility to another trying to sell portable medical x-ray machines. When his sales do not go as planned, Chris and his family end up losing their home, his wife leaves, and he is left to provide for his 5 year old son. As the movie progresses, Chris and his son must go from living in a motel, to a homeless shelter, to living wherever he could find to sleep. In my paper, I will present the issues of the family, challenges that they faced, and the use of Solution Focused Therapy and Narrative Family Therapy to aid the family in addressing their presenting issues and finding ways to communicate their feelings of abandonment and sadness.
PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
Pursuit of Happyness: Using Solution-Focused and Narrative Therapy Approaches
In the movie, The Pursuit of Happyness, Will Smith plays Chris Gardner, a salesman who is trying to sell portable x-ray machines to various physicians. In the movie, Gardner was a struggling salesman that was having a difficult time selling the machines. In the movie the biopsychosocial issues that were affecting the family was that the wife, Linda was on the verge...

...The Pursuit of Happiness: A Movie Review
The Pursuit of Happiness is a movie about a struggling salesperson who takes custody of his son, as he is ready to begin a life-changing experience. The movie stars Will Smith, with co-stars Jaden Smith, Thandie Newton, Brian Howe, Kurt Fuller, and James Karen, among many others. Will Smith, who plays Chris Gardner, is a great man deep down and just wants to do right, but everything just seems to be falling apart at the same time. Chris causes financial difficulties for his family by losing his current job and then has troubles with his relationship with his wife that leaves him and moves to New York. Without money and wife, Chris is totally committed to his son Christopher.
Will Smith portrays Chris Gardner, a character who has strong wisdom as a single father and desperately wants to do right without complaints and his only hope is drifting away when everything meaningful falls apart at the same time leaving Chris bruised and battered. Financial problems, eviction, job loss, and relationship devastation with his wife left no financial support forcing him and his son to move to New York struggling relentlessly. Fighting for a stockbroker job while homeless, the competition continues against twenty other potential candidates despite a multitude of difficulties including being arrested and broke. Chris never gives up with his son during this time. Chris accepts a...

...The Pursuit Of Happyness
In today’s society, people spend their whole life searching for happiness. Millions of people today in America still have belief in the “American Dream” myth. The “American Dream” gives a person the right of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Happiness can only be found once a person achieves the American Dream through hard work, determination, and persistence. The movie ‘The Pursuit Of Happyness’ asserts the American Dream myth through the life of Chris Gardener that every man can achieve what one wants in life if he or she is ready to struggle for it. Chris Gardener is a salesman who is unable to meet his ends, but still dreams of being financially free and happy one day.
The first scene in the movie creates the characteristics that are required for a man to be able to conquer the American Dream. One of the characteristics being: Hard work. The first sequence in the movie takes place in San Francisco where large numbers of people are walking to their jobs with happy faces with happy background music. Chris is shown as a person who looks up to them and relinquishes the happiness in their faces. Chris sells Bone Density scanners to make a living, a medical instrument that does not sell easily. He is portrayed as a hardworking, unfortunate, browbeaten human who dreams of being able achieve the American Dream. He also has problems with the police...

...DRAFT.
PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS
Find out where the joy resides, and give it a voice far beyond singing; For to miss the joy is to miss all. In The Consolation of Philosophy, by author Alain de Botton we are introduced to a philosopher named Epicurus. He was born in 341 BC and started learning philosophy at the age of 14 by traveling to hear lessons from philosophers of his time. Later on, he found out that he couldn’t agree with much of what they were saying, so in his late twenties he decided to arrange his thought into his own philosophy about life. Epicurus spent most of his life of chasing happiness and was lead to a conclusion that it’s a rather tricky issue. He stated that the purpose of life was categorically pleasure and one should not feel guilty for chasing pleasure. Though, what he meant by this, was hardly luxurious pleasure. Epicurus believed that he discovered three things that we really need in order to be happy, which are, friends, freedom and an analyzed life. Although, his philosophy about happiness is pleasure, the most pleasant life is one where we abstain from unnecessary desires and achieve an inner tranquility by being content with the simple things that life has offer.
Epicurus...